TV series we love: Miss Marple

Sleuthing has never been so in fashion with more and more stylish celebs lining up for cameos in the new and fabulously nostalgic TV version of Miss Marple. Laura Terry takes a closer look.

Set against the idyllic countryside backdrop of the Forties, our lead female heroine is in fact a little old lady with a razor-sharp mind, who champions cloche hats, pussybow blouses and cute heeled brogues.

Having been played by a range of female leads over the years – most famously perhaps by Margaret Rutherford in the Sixties – it’s the updated Marple of the past few years that really interest us.

Geraldine McEwen led the way with a revamped Marple in 2004, paving the way for the likes of Christina Cole, Keeley Hawes and Emilia Fox to make Forties fashion cool again.

Even Marple herself got something of a makeover, with her heart-shaped magnifying glass becoming something of a must-have accessory, and recently Joan Hickson’s interpretation of the super sleuth has seen Marple morph into a style icon in her own right.

Aside from the great lady herself, we’ve marvelled at some of the guest stars and their costumes who’ve featured over the years.

Read on for our top five favourite fashion cameos.

Amanda Holden – 4.50 from Paddington
Amanda became an unlikely style icon in this Marple classic, making headscarves undeniably cool again. We loved her furry leopard print coat, fitted cardigans and colourful pencil skirts that she sported here, along with that curled bouffant and red lipstick; Amanda looked like a true Hollywood starlet.

Carey Mulligan – The Sittaford Mystery
Now a major Oscar contender, when Carey starred in this Marple mystery opposite Timothy Dalton, we knew she was destined for big things! Working blue winged glasses and cutesy floral frocks in the beginning, we were shocked when her character was then transformed into a little vixen in a bottle green skin tight suit complete with fur stole to begin her new life as a millionaire’s widow.

Kelly Brook – The Moving Finger
Kelly’s always been one for retro fashion, so bravo to the producers of Marple for giving her a role to show off her vintage taste. Wearing a massive hat and black lace gloves to a funeral, it’s fair to say she stole the show, but what we really loved about Kelly’s cameo was her amazing curled bouffant hairdo, paired with red lips and nails. Gorgeous!

Rachael Stirling – Murder at the Vicarage
Having starred in Poirot only a few years previously, we knew Rachael was a pro at period dressing, which is why she’s made it onto our style list here. Playing a glamorous vicar’s wife complete with little white gloves, full bodied skirts and white pearls, her appearance in this Marple story was a major fashion high point.

Emma Griffiths Malin – They do it with Mirrors
In one of the most recent Marple’s, Emma managed to capture the art of Forties fashion perfectly with her long gothic black gown in one scene, and her headscarf and cute fitted dress in the next. Our favourite look however, comes courtesy of a white skirt, matching heels, turban inspired hat and leopard print coat that she sported to elope with her hubby abroad.

3 Responses

I don’t think I’d regard Joan Hickson as recent – she was Miss Marple way back in the eighties – and as Louise says, possibly the definitive as she’s the one who most closely resembles the Marple in the books.

It’s Julia MacKenzie who’s taken up the role most recently and who’s playing her a bit more like Hickson.